Self-closing butt hinge

ABSTRACT

The compactness of a self-closing butt hinge is increased by nesting the self-closing mechanism within openings formed in the mounting wings of the hinge so that the wings can be positioned in closely spaced face-to-face relation when the hinge is &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;closed&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;. Also disclosed are novel means for automatically locating the hinge in a proper position relative to a mortise and for limiting opening of the hinge beyond a given position.

United States Patent 1191 Anderson 1451 Dec. 3, 1974 1 SELF-CLOSKNG BUTTHHNGE [75] Inventor: Lloyd L. Anderson, Rockford, Ill. 7

I [73] Assignee: Amerock Corporation, Rockford, Ill.

[22] Filed: Oct. 11, 1972 [21] App]. No.: 296,661

[51] Int. Cl E05d 11/10 158] Field of Search .1 16/180, 142, 144, 164

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3.391.420 7/1968 Anderson16/180 3,613,151 10/1971 Anderson et al. 16/180 Primary ExaminerPaul R.Gilliam Assistant Examiner-Do'ris L. Troutman Attorney, Agent, orFirm-Wolfe, Hubbard, Leydig,

Voit & Osann, Ltd.

[5 7] ABSTRACT The compactness of a self-closing butt hinge is increasedby nesting the self-closing mechanism within openings formed in themounting wings of the hinge so that the wings can be positioned inclosely spaced face-to-face relation when the hinge is closed". Alsodisclosed are novel means for automatically locating the hinge in aproper position relative to a mortise and for limiting opening of'th'ehinge beyond a given posinon.

3 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures 1 SELF-CLOSING au'r'r Haves BACKGROUND THEINVENTION This invention relates to hinges and, while certain as- Hingesof this type find many different applications but.

are used quite frequentlyin conjunction with fine furniture, cabinetsand the like and serve to connect a door to a frame and to hold the doorin a closed-position. When so used, it is customary to mount at leastone of the hinge wings in a mortisein the door or the frame so that thetwo can be positioned closely together to avoid an unattractiveintervening gap.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One of the important objects of the presentinvention is to provide a new and improved self-closing butt hinge whosemounting wings, when the hinge is closed, are capable of lying in moreclosely spaced face-to-face'relationship than prior hinges of the samegeneral type. As a result, less material need be mortised from the dooror the frame and, in addition, the overall diameter of the hinge pinportion of the pin may be reduced to enhance the external appearance ofthe hinge.

A more detailed object'is to accomplish the foregoing through theprovision of an opening in the wing opposite the wing with theself-closing mechanism the opening being positioned to receive andaccommodate part of theself-closing mechanism when the hinge is closedand thus enable close face-to-face positioning of the wings by reducingthe effect of the obstruction presented by the self-closing mechanism.

A further object of the invention is to locate one of the hingewings,within the mortise in a novel manner to insure against dragging of theother wing against the BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a frontelevation of a new and improved hinge embodying the novel features ofthe present invention, the hinge being'viewed from the front of acabinet and the cabinet door being shown in a closed posi FIG. 5 is afragmentary cross-section taken substan-- tially along the line 55 ofFIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a rear elevation similar to FIG. 4 but primar ily showing theframe mounting wing and showing the door mounting wing with certainparts removed FIGS. 7 and 8 are enlarged cross-sections taken sub- As'tantially along the lines 77 and 8-8, respectively, of FIG. 3. I

, FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the hinge.

FIG. 10 is an elevational view primarily illustrating the door wing of asecond embodiment of a new and improved hinge incorporating the featuresof the invention. In this view, certain parts of the hinge are brokenaway and shown in section and the hinge is shown closedl 7 FIG. l1. is across-section taken substantially along the line 11-11 of FIG. 10. A

DETAILEDDESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS v For purposes ofillustration, the invention is shown in the drawings as incorporated ina'butt hinge 15 for interconnecting first and second members 16 and 17for relative swinging. While the hinge may be mounted on various typesof members, the first member 16 herein is shown as being a door whichswings between open and closed positions on a second member 17comprising the frame of a cabinet such as a record cabinet, credenza orlike piece of fine furniture. In this particular instance, the door 16and the frame 17 are formed with ends of the mortise when theself-closing mechanism effects closing of the door.

Still another object is to provide a hinge with novel means for limitingswinging of the door beyond a given open position, such means beinguniquely located to leave the normal pivotal bearing surfaces of thehinge intact and to avoid. a reduction in the effective bearing area ofthe bearing surfaces. i

The invention also resides in the use of part of the self-closingmechanism itself for limiting opening of the door beyond a givenposition.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become moreapparent from the following detailed description when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

edge surfaces 19 and 20, respectively, extending generally perpendicularto outer face surfaces 21 and 22. When the door is closed, the outerface surfaces 21 and 22 are located in substantially the same planewhile the two edge surfaces 19 and are disposed in face-toface relationwith one another The hinge 15 comprises substantially flat door andframe mounting wings 23 and 24 which are pivotally interconnected by anupright hinge pin 25 (see FIG. 9). Specifically, the door wing 23includes a pair of vertically spaced ears or curls 26 formed integrallywith and projecting from one edge of the door wing and wrapped inwardlyaround the hinge pin. Disposed between the curls 26 and wrappedreversely around the pin is an ear or curl 27 which is formed integrallywith the corresponding edge of the frame wing 24. As the door 16 isopened and closed, the lower end of the upper curl 26 and the upper endof the lower curl-26 ride against the opposing ends of the intermediatecurl 27 and thus the various ends define bearing surfaces which supportthe wings for relative swinging.

When the hinge 15 is installed, the door wing 23 is anchored adjacentthe edge surface 19 of the door 16,

the frame wing 24 is screwed to the edge surface 20 of the frame 17, andthe hinge pin 25 with the attached curls 26 and 27 is positioned justoutwardly of the face surfaces 21 and 22 and adjacent the joint betweenthe door and the frame (see FIGS. 1 and 2). To enable the edge surfaces19 and 20 to be positioned in abutting relationship and thus avoid anunsightly gap between the edge surfaces, a slot or mortise 30 (FIGS. 2and 3) is formed through the edge surface of the door 16 and receivesthe door wing 23 so that the latter does not protrude beyond the planeof the edge surface 19. While a mortise also could be formed in the edgesurface 20 of the frame 17 to receive the frame wing 24, the need forforming such a mortise is eliminated in this instance by cutting thedoor mortise 30 sufficiently deep that this mortise also encompasses theframe wing when the door 16 is in its closed position (see FIG. 3). Inother words, the frame wing 24 is received within the outboard portionof the door mortise 30 in face-to-face relation with the door wing 23when the door 16 is closed and thus it is not necessary to mortise theframe 17 in order to locate the frame wing out of the plane of the twoabutting edge surfaces 19 and 20. As shown in FIG. 2, the mortise 30 inthe door 16 is generally rectangular and includes an upright wall 31 towhich the door wing 23 is screwed, the upper and lower edges of the wingbeing positioned closely adjacent the upper and lower ends 33 of themortise.

The hinge is of the self-closing type in that it includes a self-closingmechanism 35 (FIGS. 2, 5 and 9) for urging the door 16 to and holdingthe door releasably in its closed position. In this instance, theselfclosing mechanism includes a pressure member 36 carried on one ofthe mounting wings 23, 24 and springurged toward the hinge pin 25 tobias the door to its closed position.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the pressuremember 36 is positioned to be received within openings 39 and 40 (FIGS.4, 6 and 9) in the door and frame wings 23 and 24, respectively, and isadapted to nest compactly with both wings when the door 16 is closed soas to enable positioning of the wings in closely spaced face-to-facerelationship in spite of the presence of the pressure member between thewings. Because the unique nesting of the pressure member permits closeface-to-face spacing of the wings, the hinge pin 25 and the variouscurls 26 and 27 may be made smaller in diameter so as to reduce theoverall diameter of the pin portion of the hinge and thereby cause theexternal appearance of the pin portion to be slimmer and moreattractive. Moreover, the amount of material needed to be removed fromthe door to form the mortise 30 is reduced since the closely lower edgesthereof and opening out of the hinged edge of the wing. As shown inFIGS. 3 and 7, the inboard side of the plunger 36 is generally flushwith the inboard face of the wing and thus the plunger lies closelyadjacent the vertical wall 31 of the mortise 30 when the hinge 15 isattached to the door 16.

To retain the plunger 36 within the opening 39, the upper and loweredges of the opening are turned outwardly and define generallyhorizontal guide ribs 43 (FIGS. 5 and 9) extending toward the hinge pin25. Grooves 44 formed in the upper and lower ends of the plunger arefitted slidably over the ribs and thus the latter guide the plunger forsliding toward and away from the pin. The plunger is biased toward thepin by two coil springs 45 telescoped into holes 46 in the plunger andcompressed between the bottoms of the holes and a wall 47 struckoutwardly from the door wing 23 adjacent the closed end of the opening39.

When the door 16 is closed, the free end or nose of the plunger 36 ispartially received within a slot 50 formed in the inner side of the curl27 midway between the upper and lower ends thereof and, in this positionof the door, the nose bears against one edge of the slot (i.e., one edgeof the curl) (see FIG. 7). As a result, the plunger urges the door toand holds the door in its closed position. When the door is opened, theplunger rides past the slot edge and onto the arcuate surface of thecurl 27 so as to direct the spring force radially through the hinge pin25 and allow the door to remain in the open position. As the door isswung to a nearly closed position,'the major portion of the nose of theplunger moves into the slot 50 and again bears against the slot edge tosnap the door to its closed position and to hold the door releasably insuch position In carrying out the invention, the opening 40 in the framewing 24 is located so as to receive the outboard side of the plunger 36and the outer end portion of the wall 47 when the door 16 is closed (seeFIGS. 3 and 7). As shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, the opening 40 is alsodefined by a generally rectangular notch which is formed through theframe wing 24 and which opens out of the hinged edge thereof adjacentthe slot 50 in the curl 27. The opening 40 is located midway between theupper and lower edges of the frame wing and thus is alined verticallywith the plunger 36. Accordingly, as the door 16 is closed, the outboardside of the plunger and the outer end of the wall 47 move into theopening as shown in FIG. 7 and thus the plunger becomes compactly nestedbetween the door and frame wings rather than engaging the outboard faceof the frame wing and preventing that wing from being positioned closeto the door wing. The two wings thus may be located in closely spacedface-to-face relationship to enable a reduction in the depth of themortise 30 and in the overall diameter of the hinge pin portion of thehinge.

Advantageously, means are provided for automatically spacing the upperand lower edges of the door and frame wings 23 and 24 from the upper andlower ends 33 of the mortise 30 so that, when the door 16 is closed, theends of the mortise will not drag across the edges of the frame wing andinterfere with the self-closing action of the hinge l5. Herein, thesemeans comprise short tabs (FIGS. 2, 4 and 6) which project verticallyfrom the upper and lower edges of the door and frame wings directlyadjacent the curls 26 and the hinge pin 25. The tabs are only about H32in height and about H16 in length.

When the door wing 23 is installed within the mortise 341 and attachedto the vertical wall 31 thereof, the tabs 55 on the door wing engage theupper and lower ends 33 of the mortise as shown in FIG. 2 andautomatically establish vertical gaps between such ends and the upperand lower edges of the frame wing 24 rather than dragging and rubbingacross such-edges and restricting selfclosing of the door. Thus, thetabs 55 on the door wing 23 insure against improper location of thewings within the mortise 30 during installation of the hinge.

The tabs 55 formed on the frame wing 24 serve as spacers in the eventthe frame 17 is mortised rather than the door 16. Even though the ends33 of the door mortise 30 drag across the frame wing tabs 55 duringclosing of the door 16, the effect of such dragging is 71 engage thelugs 70 and prevent further opening of the door. As in the case of thefirst embodiment, the stops defined by the lugs 70 and the tabs 71 donot reduce the effective area of the bearing surfaces at the ends of thecurls 26' and 27'. In addition, the spacing between the hinge axis andthe lugs 7tlis greater than the spacing between the hinge axis and theclosed ends 60 of the slots 63 and thus the force exerted on the tabs 71is somewhat less than that applied to the prongs 61 when a given openingforce is exerted on the door.

I claim as my invention:

1. A butt hinge comprising a hinge pin, first and second substantiallyflat mounting wings each having an ear received on said pin, said firstwing being swingable about the axis of said pin and relative to saidsecond wing from a predetermined position in which said wings nominalbecause of the comparatively short length of the tabs and because thetabs are located closely adjacent the hinge pin 25.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, swinging of the door16 beyond a given open position is prevented by pairs of coacting stops60 and 61 which are spaced vertically from the ends or bearing surfacesof the curls 26 and 27 so that such surfaces may be left intact and neednot be reduced in effective area as otherwise is the case whenswing-limiting stops are formed at the bearing surfaces themselves. Inthe embodiment of the hinge shown in FIGS. 1 to 9, the stops 60 aredefined by the closed ends of a pair of vertically spaced slots 63(FIGS. 1 and 6) which are formed in and extend partially around the curl27 between the upper and lower ends thereof, the slots 63 leading fromone edge of the vertical slot 50. The stops 61 are formed by twooutwardly projecting prongs which are fitted into the slots 63 and whichadvantageously constitute integral extensions of the ribs 43 for guidingthe plunger 36.

During normal opening and closing of the door 16, the prongs 61 simplyride back and forth within the slots 63. If the door is swung open to agiven limit position as shown in phantom in FIG. 8, the prongs 61 engagethe closed ends 60 of the slots 63 and prevent any further opening ofthe door so that thelatter will not bang against the cabinet. Becausethe prongs 61 and the slots 63 are spaced vertically from the bearingsurfaces of the-curls 26 and 27, these surfaces are kept smooth andunbroken to minimize wear and resistance to damage.

A modified hinge I5 incorporating the features of the invention is shownin FIGS. 10 and 11 in which parts corresponding to those of the firstembodiment are indicated by the same but primed reference numerals. Inthis instance, swing-limiting stops are defined by.

a pair of lugs 70 formed integrally with and projecting outwardly fromthe outer side of the frame wing curl 27' and spaced vertically from theupper and lower ends of the curl. Two coacting stops are defined bysmall tabs 71 which are bent outwardly from the hinged edge of the doorwing 23' just above and below the guide ribs 43'. When the door is swungopen to a given limit position as shown in phantom in FIG. 11, the tabsare disposed in face-to-face relationship to another position in whichthe wings are disposed out of face-toface relationship, a pressuremember mounted on one of said wings and located in the gap between theopposing faces of said wings when said first wing is in saidpredetermined position, a spring mounted on said one wing and urgingsaid pressure member edgewise of said one wing and toward said pin tobias said first wing to said predetermined position, and an openingformed in the other one of said wings and located to receive at leastpart of said pressure member when said first wing is in saidpredetermined position whereby said wings are, positioned closelytogether when disposed in faceto-face relationship.

2. A butt hinge for connecting a door for swinging between open andclosed positions relative to a frame, said door and frame each having anouter face surface and a generally perpendicular edge surface, said facesurfaces being disposed in generally the same plane and said edgesurfaces facing one another when said door is in said closed position,said hinge comprising substantially flat door and frame wings mountableon the edge surfaces of said door and frame, respectively, and eachhaving an ear, a hinge pininterconnecting said ears to mount said wingsfor relative swinging and adapted to be located outwardly of said facesurfaces, said wings being disposed in face-to-face relationship whensaid door is in said closed position and being disposed out offace-to-face relationship when said door is in said open position, apressure member mounted slidably on one of said wings and having oneside facing the respective edge surface, said pressure member beinglocated in the gap between the opposing faces of said wings when thelatter are in face-to-face relationship, a spring supported on said'onewing and urging said pressure member to slide edgewise of said one wingand toward said pin to bias said door to said closed position, and anopening formed in the other of said wings and locate to receive theopposite side of said pressure member when said door is in said closedsaid closed position.

k =l t

1. A butt hinge comprising a hinge pin, first and second substantiallyflat mounting wings each having an ear received on said pin, said firstwing being swingable about the axis of said pin and relative to saidsecond wing from a predetermined position in which said wings aredisposed in face-to-face relationship to another position in which thewings are disposed out of face-to-face relationship, a pressure membermounted on one of said wings and located in the gap between the opposingfaces of said wings when said first wing is in said predeterminedposition, a spring mounted on said one wing and urging said pressuremember edgewise of said one wing and toward said pin to bias said firstwing to said predetermined position, and an opening formed in the otherone of said wings and located to receive at least part of said pressuremember when said first wing is in said predetermined position wherebysaid wings are positioned closely together when disposed in face-to-facerelationship.
 2. A butt hinge for connecting a door for swinging betweenopen and closed positions relative to a frame, said door and frame eachhaving an outer face surface and a generally perpendicular edge surface,said face surfaces being disposed in generally the same plane and saidedge surfaces facing one another when said door is in said closedposition, said hinge comprising substantially flat door and frame wingsmountable on the edge surfaces of said door and frame, respectively, andeach having an ear, a hinge pin interconnecting said ears to mount saidwings for relative swinging and adapted to be located outwardly of saidface surfaces, said wings being disposed in face-to-face relationshipwhen said door is in said closed position and being disposed out offace-to-face relationship when said door is in said open position, apressure member mounted slidably on one of said wings and having oneside facing the respective edge surface, said pressure member beinglocated in the gap between the opposing faces of said wings when thelatter are in face-to-face relatioNship, a spring supported on said onewing and urging said pressure member to slide edgewise of said one wingand toward said pin to bias said door to said closed position, and anopening formed in the other of said wings and locate to receive theopposite side of said pressure member when said door is in said closedposition whereby said wings are located in closely spaced face-to-facerelationship when said door is in said closed position.
 3. A butt hingeas defined in claim 2 further including an opening formed in said onewing for receiving said one side of said pressure member whereby thelatter is nested within said two openings when said door is in saidclosed position.